This set reissues five books on the subject of women and crime. The titles, which were originally published between 1930 and 1996, include a book of case-studies of female criminals, a comprehensive annotated bibliography on the social conflict and change of women in crime, and essays which examine the construction of women in criminology. This set will be of particular interest to students of both criminology and women’s studies.

This title, first published in 1930, examines the events of eleven female criminals and the conditions that surrounded their crimes. Annals of Crime explores whether the women mentioned would have committed these crimes if their circumstances had been different. This book will be of interest to students of history, criminology and gender studies.

First published in 1981. In the last few decades, interest in the study of crimes by women has increased. This interest has coincided with the accelerated momentum of the feminist movement and has led to claims that a rising female crime rate is somehow linked with the changing status of women. But are women committing more crimes? And if so, can this be attributed to the impact of the women’s movement? In this book, nine essays survey aspects of the relationship between women and the criminal justice system. The contributors include historians, criminologists, lawyers, ex-prisoners and political scientists. Women and Crime will be of interest to students of criminology.

Female Crime, first published in 1987, surveys the major schools of criminology in order to explore the images of the female offender which underpin many contemporary crime theories. In reveals the ways in which male-centred norms dominated much analysis, and how crude stereotypes of women were a common attribute to the armoury of criminological research. Although feminists and other researchers are directing increasing attention to criminology, this was one of the first attempts to deploy feminist analyses developed within other disciplines to examine critically the range of modern criminological theories on women. Its findings demonstrate the importance of a program to create a new feminist criminology which recognises the female offender as a reasoning, purposeful subject. This title will be of interest to students of criminology.

RLE Women and Religion gathers in one place a collection of previously out-of-print titles from a variety of historic imprints. Encompassing a range of experiences, the set provides an essential reference source on some of the key points in the field of women and religion. 1. A Map of the New Country 2. Muslim Women 3. Passport to Heaven 4. Sex and God 5. Women’s Religious Experience

First published in 1977, Women, Crime and Criminology presents a feminist critique of classical and contemporary theories of female criminality. It addresses the issue that criminology literature has, throughout history, been predominantly male-oriented, always treating female criminality as marginal to the ‘proper’ study of crime in society. Carol Smart explores a new direction in criminology, and the sociology of deviance, by investigating female crime from a committed feminist position. Examining the types of offences committed by female offenders, Smart points to the fallacies inherent in a reliance on official statistics and shows the deficiencies of the popular argument that female emancipation has caused an increase in female crime rates. She deals with studies of prostitution and rape and considers the treatment of women – as offenders and victims – by the criminal law, the police and courts, and the penal system. Particular attention is given to the question of lenient treatment for female offenders with the conclusion that women and girls are, in some important instances, actually discriminated against in our legal and penal systems. The relationship between female criminality and mental illness is discussed and the author concludes by dealing with some of the problems inherent in developing a feminist criminology.

Reissuing seven works originally published between 1940 and 1997, this collection spans the time in which Criminology has been a recognised academic discipline. It offers a set of excellent works on diverse aspects of the field from nineteenth century criminality to burglary in the 1980s. The set includes a Dictionary and several works looking at the social and psychological side of crime.